Tell us a Story?
by DeeSarrachi
Summary: When my neices and nephews ask for a bedtime story, I'm only too happy to comply. Here's the result.
1. A bedtime story

Disclaimer: Don't own Neopets, but I DO own the idea of Starry Faerie Acaras, and my pets personality. And, duh, Dee as she is me! Tiger_eye216 is eevmon's, so she's not mine either! So...on with the story!  
  
***  
  
"Dee, tell us a story?"  
  
I blinked, glancing back into the room the question had come from. Inside sat _Blue__eye_ and _Green__eye_, or Blue and Gem, my nephew and niece. They looked similar, being twins, except that Blue was, well, blue and Gem was green. They were sitting up on their beds, looking hopefully up at me.  
  
I sighed. "Well, alright. If you really want one."  
  
Blue and Gem's older siblings, _Red_XIII99_ and Tiger_Red_Eye, or Rudy and Faerie, respectively, poked their head around the corner of the hallway. The slim Christmas Kougress adjusted the too-large hat on her head, before asking, "A story? Can we listen?"  
  
"Sure." I said, grinning. I loved the small Kougras, not to mention telling stories.  
  
At that, four more pets poked their heads around the bend. Moonshine132000,(or Em) my silver Shoyru, was the oldest of my pets. Starshimmer132000 (more commonly known as Star), a Starry Faerie Acara, was the second oldest, and I still thought of her as female, though, thanks to the Lab Ray, her stats said otherwise. Red_XIII99 (Red for short), for whom Rudy was named, was the third eldest, and a Christmas Kougra. Last, but not least, was my Faerie Kacheek, nicknamed Kyle, though his full name was Kool_Kyle_Kid. "If there's a story being told, I wanna be in on it!" he said.  
  
Laughing, I motioned for my four pets to join those already in the room. "Alright. Now, let me think." For a moment the room was silent as the pets waited in breathless anticipation. "I have it. Now, Once upon a time."  
  
"No!" said Rudy. The lamplight glinted off his silver fur. "I wanna hear a story that's about us!"  
  
I raised an eyebrow. "How do you know this isn't about you?" I asked. "It just so happens that all great stories start Once Upon A Time. If there are any more interruptions, I do have other things to do. If I may continue?" None of the assembled pets said a word. "Good. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Once upon a time...  
  
***  
  
A/N: Way-hey! I know, incredibly short. However, since the 'story' doesn't start 'till next chapter, I figure, let's cut it off here! Reviews are welcome, I'll use flames to bake cookies for the people that point out what they like/hate about this thing. Don't worry, I won't bite if you point out mistakes, I'll prolly owe you my life or something, as I am notoriously bad at editing my own work. :P Thanks! 


	2. Mirrors don't lieRight?

Disclaimer: See the last chapter. I don't own Neopets, I own Starry Faerie Acaras and Dee. Oh, and Simli. I made her up. She's mine.  
  
***  
  
Mirrors don't lie...Right?  
  
***  
  
"Once upon a time, there lived a Kougra Princess. Usually, she was busy racing about, practicing riding and archery and fencing, and a great many other things that are not considered proper for princess, as well as a few that were. Right now, however, she was sitting, staring out one of the large picture windows, bored out of her feline skull.  
  
'Your Highness!' gasped her nurse, a kindly Blumaroo by the name of Simli. 'Why are you hidden away up here? Your parents have been quite worried.'  
  
'So let them worry.' said the princess sullenly. She shifted to a more comfortable position, her dark green fur catching the light. Dark blue strips accented it perfectly, giving her what people called 'unique' when they were polite and 'strange' when they weren't. 'And stop with the highness stuff! It's just silly. When I become queen, I won't let anyone call me 'your highness'.'  
  
'Your-- Princess Gem, I mean, you cannot mean that! Now, come along, your dance instructor is waiting.'  
  
'Maybe I don't want to learn how to dance. Perhaps I would rather swim in the river.' muttered Gem darkly, though not loud enough for Simli to hear. Gem was sick of Simli -- not to mention other servants and relatives-- saying at every available moment that all the things that Gem liked were not proper princess behaviour. She had once overheard her great-aunt Ruby telling her father, Red, that perhaps he should deny Gem of the throne and give it to one of her cousins?  
  
Ever since then, Gem had hidden her interests, and to most people, she studied only the proper things for a princess to learn: dance, sewing, some riding, and all the other things Gem thought too boring for words. She had already decided that she would rule the kingdom of Genovia alone, and so spent all her free time learning things like politics, sword-play, archery, riding, and other little things she thought would be important on the distant day when *she* would be queen.  
  
***  
  
At that time, in the village of Genia, the capital city of Genovia, there lived a small, blue Kougra. His name was Blue. He lived simply, with his mother and father, on a very small farm at the edge of town. At this moment, Blue wasn't working in the fields, or even minding the livestock. He was dressed in his best outfit, walking through the streets of town. These streets were very busy today, and the fields were nearly empty, for today, it was rumoured, a band of traveling musicians would be arriving. Blue carefully smoothed down his dark blue fur, fur that matched the rich indigo colour of his vest. He was the only person that could be spared from the farm chores today, since he wasn't old enough to plant the finicky corn crops.  
  
Pushing his way carefully through the throngs of people already in the square, Blue found a spot just big enough for a thin Kougra like himself. Sliding between a Lenny and a Zafara, Blue found himself right in the front.  
  
'Come one, come all! See amazing things! Have your fortunes told, and see the amazing performing Bloop! All this and more, all for free! All are welcome!'  
  
The person announcing was the strangest Blue had ever seen: A human! But not just any human, this one had a Kougra-like tail! Shaking his head, Blue wandered off around the tents that had been put up all around the square.  
  
***  
  
Gem wandered through the large castle, still bored. Sighing unhappily, she found her way into the old playroom.  
  
The room was large, and hadn't been used---or dusted---in years, probably not since Gem's father, Red, had been a young cub. The playroom was full of all kinds of interesting things, from old items that had long since been discontinued, to ancient, dusty relics from lands far, far away. One of these was Gem's personal favourite. Each time she came up here---and she came up often---she was drawn to it: A large mirror. There was no dust on it; Gem's personal fantasy was that dust didn't have the nerve to settle on it. The air around it felt supercharged, like the static in the air just before lightning strikes. Gem had never seen anything in it except her own reflection, but she could tell that someday, she'd see something else.  
  
This time, as she made her way carefully through the cobwebby playroom, the charged feeling in the air built until Gem was certain her very fur crackled from it. She carefully faced the mirror, sure to find that her green fur was standing up on end.  
  
To her surprise, it was still flat against her body. Gem's amber eyes stared back at her from the mirror, mildly surprised. Suddenly, they opened wide in shock as her image blurred.  
  
It reappeared...or so she thought. On closer inspection, she found that the face that stared back at her, though similar, was covered in dark blue fur, crossed with equally dark stripes. Also, this new Kougra was defiantly a male. Gem whirled, her heart pounding, sure that someone had managed to sneak up behind her.  
  
There was nothing there. Gem turned carefully back to the mirror. To her relief, all it showed was her own wide-eyed image. 'Did I just dream that?' she asked her reflection in a whisper. 'Or...' her voice trembled. 'Or was it *real*?'  
  
Her only answer was the muted sounds of the castle.  
  
***  
  
A/N: Nope, not gonna put up more. I'm gonna leave you hanging as to what happens to Gem and Blue. Bite me. :p Review please, I love getting other peoples' opinions on my work! 


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